Various ride-on vehicles are among the most popular items for children. These ride-on vehicles provide a seat to support the rider yet allow their feet to contact the ground so as to push or pull the vehicle in a desired direction through a scooting action of their feet. Another popular item with children that relies on contact of the rider's feet with the ground and a scooting action thereof to move the vehicle is a scooter. Conventionally, if a child wanted both a ride-on toy and a scooter, the child's parents or guardian would typically purchase two separate products. However, the purchase of two separate scoot-a-bout types of vehicles may be costly. Additionally, two separate products increase the space required for storage, which may be at a premium in a garage, basement or other storage location.
More recently, some ride-on vehicles have been offered that provide a conversion between a ride-on configuration and a scooter configuration. However, such convertible designs also have their drawbacks. A primary drawback, for example, involves the lack of steering control in one or both of the configurations. By way of example, when these convertible vehicles are in the scooter configuration, the rider is typically unable to steer the vehicle, thereby limiting the direction of the rider to only a single direction (e.g., straight ahead). Such a limitation may diminish the excitement and enjoyment experienced by the rider during use.
In addition to the above, manufacturers strive to provide products that capture the attention and imagination of children and make the product more enjoyable during play. Many products on the market currently lack new and exciting features that allow children to play in different and interesting ways. For example, many products are provided to children with predetermined color schemes or decorative features (e.g., decals, etc.), which oftentimes fail to make a personal connection with the child. Additionally, many products offered today provide limited activities for children, often being limited to a single activity (e.g., a tricycle is only used to ride). Such products, while being generally successful for their intended purpose, may limit the use or diminish the enjoyment the child may gain from using the product.
Thus, there remains a need for an improved scoot-a-bout vehicle that is capable of converting between multiple configurations in a manner that allows the rider to maintain steering control of the vehicle. There also remains a need for a child vehicle designed to make a personal connection with the child and provide a variety of activities for the child.